Universal Dialect
by Future-Imperfect
Summary: Ch 5 Now Up! This is a crossover with the movie "Contact," it is set several years after the conclusion of the movie, and on Voyager around season 5. Not quite sure what made me think of this. Warning- may contain f/f in future chapts, rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

Note to readers- This story is my first fanfic, so keep that in mind  Also, I have listed this as a J/7, but my intention is for it to be a mainly J/Ellie story, at least in the first chapters, and that's not an option to select. I thought these characters would be great together and would make for a fun storyline, but who knows who may end up together as I continue to write…….Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters depicted in the below story, nor the storylines they were created from, I just enjoy writing about them!

ooooooooooo

"Future Perfect" Ch1

Elanore Arroway sat in her favorite evening spot, perched at the rim of a desert canyon in the shadow of the VLA in New Mexico. Her eyes half closed, listing passively to the radio waves pouring in from the stars, millions of miles away. She was a slender woman, her thick, blonde hair plated down her back, though by this time in the day it was starting to come undone, tendrils falling around her face and shoulders.

Ellie took off her headphones, placing them around her neck and looked up at the sky, the starlight reflected in her vibrant blue eyes. Every now and then she liked to stop listening and just gaze upwards.... and remember.

It didn't ever matter to her so much anymore the chaos that had erupted after "The Message Incident" as the media now referred to it, that all seemed far in the past. But her memories of the miraculous journey were still as vivid as the day four years ago when she had walked on the beach at "Pensacola" and the sky had rang as she passed her hand through it. The words of her "Father" still rang in her ears,

"You're an interesting species. An interesting mix. You're capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other."

"Each other," she thought, and gazed at the star Vega.... she knew they weren't there, necessarily, but it was the place she always looked at before going in..... but it had yet to speak to her again.

_______________________________________________________________________

"Report."

Captain Kathryn Janeway marched onto the bridge for the start of Alpha Shift. Ensign Kim stood quickly and snapped to attention, as he did every morning, as if he wasn't allowed to sit in "the big chair" and was caught in the act. Janeway smiled warmly,

"At ease Ensign, how was Gamma shift?"

"A slight irregularity with the internal sensor array, but it's been realigned and hasn't given us any more trouble." Harry looked back at the Crewman Jones now manning Harry's usual station at Ops,

"And we're getting some interesting readings from the nebula approximately 1 light year ahead, it's too far to get precise readings but I left a message for Seven to have a look when she gets to Astrometrics."

"Thank you Ensign, you're relieved." Janeway always smiled a little on the inside when Harry went into "Starfleet Mode" in the normal course of business, and she liked to play along.

Janeway relaxed into her command chair as Harry and the rest of Gamma Shift headed for the turbolift as their replacements entered. It had been a slow week, but the nebula they were approaching should be of some interest, and hopefully, some energy reserves.

Five minutes into Alpha shift, Lt. Paris strode onto the bridge. He looked a bit ragged, and didn't meet Janeway's gaze as he hurried to his post to take over from the young ensign now at the con. As he turned to sit, Janeway noticed a telltale red half circle at his Jaw line.... he really should tell B'Lanna to be careful, or at least get up early enough to see the Doctor before he went on duty. She smirked to herself,

"Oversleep Mr. Paris?"

"Uh.... yes, recovering from a challenging game of paresis squares yesterday, I think I'm still a little sore..."

Janeway smirked again... "tell B'lanna to take it easy on the court next time Tom, I need my best pilot in one piece."

The Captain glanced at her first officer, who now also had a slight smile, she guessed they were thinking alike. Really she shouldn't pry.. but sometimes way out in the Delta Quadrant the few bits of gossip managed to keep life interesting on a ship this size.

After going over the reports routed to her station, and instructing Lt. Paris to maintain course for the Nebula, the Captain rose, turned over command to her 1st officer, and headed for her ready room. She wanted to look at the scans of the nebula and head to Astrometrics to ask Seven's opinion.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"0600 hours, regeneration cycle complete," the computer chimed.

Seven's eyes opened, and she stepped down from her alcove, her mind already prepared for the day ahead. She turned and placed her hand to the Borg console attached to the alcoves and tapped her fingers across the panel,

"Personal log, Seven of Nine. Today I am scheduled to review the data concerning the nebula in sector 127.6547, then continue my review of the chemical spectra from comet 8902Y that we catalogued on sensors last week. Tom has 'named' the object 'The Wishful Thinking Comet' as it did not contain the reserves of trilithium we had expected. I believe this is what the Doctor termed 'sarcastic humor.' End personal log."

The tall blond strode out of the cargo bay in her tight blue biosuit, her features coolly perfect as usual, ready for another organized and efficient day.

What confronted her in Astrometrics was a different matter entirely. Upon pulling up the latest continual scans of the nebula, she was struck by the speed at which the usually passive gasses were churning and spinning, wildly inconsistent behavior for this size and composition of a nebula. Continuing to scan, she tapped her combadge,

"Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here" came the reply.

"I require your presence in Astrometrics."

Janeway slowly shook her head, Seven was the only person on this ship who would dare to "require" the Captain to do anything. But then again, the two had developed a unique relationship since Seven had been on Voyager. For some reason the informality didn't bother Janeway as much as she figured it should. Maybe it was a mutual respect for each other's considerable knowledge and experience.... or, admitted Janeway to herself, it could be those captivating sapphire eyes of hers....

"On my way Seven" She replied, shaking the previous thought from her head, and headed for the Turbolift.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_CQ....CQ this is W9GFO, come back? This is Elanore Airroway, broadcasting on 2.65 megahertz, ....... anyone..... do you read me.... come back?_

Ellie woke to the dark bedroom, a light sweat covering her skin. The moonlight was beginning to wane outside her window, soon it would be replaced by the first rays of daylight. She had been having the dream again..... It had been happening every night for the past week, and she had yet to be able to sleep long enough to hear anyone answer her.

Her alarm clock went off at that moment, making her jump. 5:30 am- time for a run before the desert sun made such activities impossible. Besides, she had work to do. Some ..... well, most she guessed might not understand how she could spend every day listening for something that obstinately refused to happen again. She privately felt that the next message, or whatever it would be, wasn't scheduled until long after her time, but for some reason she couldn't stop searching. Ellie got that stomach-churning feeling that she had been born far ahead of her time, she wanted so badly to live in the future, away from the monotony of listening to politicians talk about "current issues" that never seemed to be resolved, and having to hear religious extremists talk about how science was unnatural and evil. She longed to see a society made up of beings that were past these short-sighted ideals and had found ways to understand the galaxy, and the vast spaces it represented.

She shook it off.... there was nothing she could do about it, not just at the moment anyway..... she'd put it on her "to do" list she thought sarcastically. Now about that run......

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I believe the nebula is unique Captain, the gaseous forms are moving in a manner inconsistent with its internal gravity." Seven and Janeway watched the live scans of the phenomena on the forward screen of the Astrometirics lab.

"Any ideas Seven?" Janeway replied, eyes not leaving the image.

"It is likely that the distortions are due to some object within the nebula, but its size does not match the gravitational pull that seems to exist. I suggest we bring Voyager closer to perform a more thorough inspection." Seven began to re-program the Astrometrics sensors for a more thorough sweep at close range.

Janeway tapped her combadge, "Mr. Paris, take us closer.... carefully," she added.

Voyager came to a full stop just outside of the outer edges of the nebula as the Captain strode onto the bridge.

"Report."

Harry responded, "the nebula is composed of a variety of both heavy and light gasses, indicating it has a substantial mass. Most common elements are present, as well as a substantial quantity of trilithium in a plasma state."

"Excellent." Replied Janeway, who knew their stocks were running dangerously low. "Can we get close enough to use transporters?"

"I wouldn't recommend it, those outer clouds look dangerous," replied Tom.

"He's right Captain." Added Harry, "the outer edges are composed of highly radioactive components that would likely disable most of our systems. Voyager's too big to maneuver around them at the rate they're moving."

"A shuttle might have a better chance Captain." Tom injected.

"Sounds like a plan, are you volunteering then Tom?"

"Yes m'am"

"Then you're with me, I'm curious to see this thing up close, Ensign Waters, you too, You have the bridge Commander, we'll keep an open comlink and send scans back to Seven."

Ensign Waters trotted excitedly down the corridor behind the Captain and Tom. Janeway knew she had some experience with the chemical make-up of nebulae and thought it might be a good educational trip for the young science officer. Besides, someone had to laugh at Tom's jokes....

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The nebula was even more startling to see up-close. The swirling gasses and vapors rotated around its center of mass, creating wild color displays as they mixed and collapsed. Tom navigated fairly smoothly through the outer layers, avoiding encountering the heavier clouds. Janeway studied the readings, "The largest amounts of high-energy material appears to be located near the center of the cloud, how close can you safely get us Tom?"

"Close enough for a safe transport I think," he replied, glancing back at the rear of the shuttle where pattern enhancers had been set up behind a force-field.

"Good Mr. Paris, take us in."

Seconds later, the shuttle began to pitch violently, the forces overriding the inertial dampeners.

"Tom, report!" Janeway yelled over the computer's alarms.

"I don't know.... I can't get control back.... we're being pulled closer to the center of the nebula..."

"Janeway to Voyager"..... only static came through her combadge..... "Janeway to Voyager, three for emergency beam out!!" No response..... Janeway looked up just in time to see the center of the nebula hit them in the face, the next thing she experienced was like nothing she could have prepared herself for. The shuttle felt as if it tipped over the brink of a waterfall..... Janeway's stomach dropped to her feet as the entire universe seemed to rush past the little shuttle... all at once. Then she lost consciousness.

The shuttle careened out of the anomaly, entering Earth's orbit at a dizzying rate. All three occupants remained oblivious as the emergency autopilot arrested the free-fall and initiated a decent through the atmosphere, shooting through the night sky and coming to a rest in the middle of the New Mexico desert, some 60,000 light-years away, and 400 years into the past of its last recorded position.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Ellie jogged around the last turn of her daily path, heading back to her rented house for a quick shower before driving up to the lab. It wasn't fancy, but she had been lucky to find the place to rent, since there were very few houses, or structures of any kind for that matter, in the local vicinity. For the most part she only interacted with the other scientists who were using the VLA at any given time. The nearest store and the only restaurant were a good 30 minutes down the road. In most ways this was what she liked most about her life, peaceful, and seemingly far away from the rest of the world. Now if only the universe were a little closer......

What did she have on tap for the day? She thought to herself, climbing the three steps to the porch and going inside. Same as the day before, she mused, nebulae, quasars, pulsars....nouns, verbs, adjectives..... dammit, Palmer! Whenever she thought over her studies she always heard his voice, quietly mocking. Now that she thought of it, she hadn't the slightest idea what he was up to these days. Probably off preaching to the masses about the evils of technology, she surmised.

Ellie and Palmer had gone their separate ways after the hearings on "The Message Incident." He had risen to even greater popular acclaim, published another book or two, while she became withdrawn and retreated out to the desert. They had kept in touch for a few months, but then it tapered off. Ellie wasn't surprised, after the Incident they had been friends, but nothing more. She wasn't really sure she had been all that interested in the first place, really. But she had been more impulsive back at Arecibo, and had felt profoundly alone, searching for connections.

Half an hour later, Ellie was trotting out of the house, laptop case in one hand, car keys in the other, and a piece of toast in her mouth. Her hair was knotted in a ponytail at the base of her neck. She wore jeans and a tank top, and large-rimmed glasses that made her look even younger than she already did. Tossing her things in the small backseat of her convertible, she climbed in, and tore down the road to the lab.

oooooooooooooo

Janeway was the first to regain consciousness, and quickly wished she hadn't. Her head was pounding and she felt sore all over. Slowly, she began to move her legs and arms, making sure they were all accounted for. Finding nothing immediately broken, she dragged herself off the floor of the shuttle, which, she noticed with relief, seemed to be more or less intact.

Then she looked to see the state of the others. Tom was slumped over the console. She reached out to feel his pulse. Strong. Good. Looking back, she saw Ensign Waters sprawled across the cargo area of the shuttle. The .... whatever it was.... must have disabled the force field, and she had been flung against the cargo doors. Janeway hurried to her side, she was breathing and her pulse seemed normal, but a large bruise was beginning to form over her right eyebrow.

Janeway went back to the shuttle's controls, trying to find out where they were. Wherever it was, it was dark.

The shuttle's main power was offline, but she could get enough from the secondary systems to activate the sensors again. The readings came up. The atmosphere outside was nitrogen and oxygen, with minimal levels of heavier gasses. Good, this was looking like an M class planet. Scanning for other atmospheric dangers or anomalies.... None currently present, temperature- 56 degrees and rising slowly... also good.

Janeway couldn't believe their apparent good fortune, this place seemed downright...... earthlike.

Scanning for lifeforms in the area- not much, just some sparse plant life and the occasional insect or small fauna. Also good.

Then the first shock, radio waves. Lots of them. This planet must be inhabited- hopefully by the friendly type. First things first she thought, and engaged the cloaking device they had developed. It didn't work in flight, but with the shuttle stationary it would blend into the surroundings. They had installed it using modified holographic technology and it had proved invaluable on more than one occasion.

She turned her attention back to the radio signals, she isolated what appeared to be a message originating locally and put it on audio in the shuttle. When it came through, she almost passed right out again,

"Good Morning Southwest!! This is your wake-up call with Ryan Rise!! It's 6:30 am here on this Tuesday the 31st of June 2001, It's another be-a-u-tiful day here in sunny Phoenix, and it looks like it's going to be a hot one!! So dig out your sunblock while you get the latest on the traffic out there from our associate Tim Roads!! We'll be back with that, and much more in five minutes. This is Ryan Rise broadcasting on 97.4 fm, stay tuned!"

Janeway turned down the volume in shock..... maybe she wasn't really conscious after all... maybe she was dead, and the afterlife was a downed shuttle somewhere near Phoenix.

ooooooooooooooo

The day was getting warmer as the desert sun beat down on the shuttle and its occupants. Tom Paris and Ensign Sarah Waters listened in disbelief as Janeway told them where they were.

"I think this is Earth," she said, her command face slowly regaining its strength. "I believe I know where we are, however the problem is 'when' we are."

"What do you mean Captain?" Replied Tom.

"According to what data I've been able to gather, I believe we are on Earth, in New Mexico to be precise, near the turn of the 21st century." Janeway sighed, "apart from that I haven't learned much, like how we got here from the nebulae. I think we may need to see what readings we can take in the surrounding area. Besides, we can't hide out here forever, there's only about a week of rations in a shuttle this size."

About an hour later, Janeway, Tom, and Sarah emerged from the shuttle into the desert. They had replicated some basic clothing to better blend in should they encounter anyone, the temporal prime directive dictated that they try not to pollute the timeline by alerting the natives.

Janeway scanned the horizon, there was a row of uniform structures in the distance, about a mile away she guessed. At this distance she couldn't determine their nature. "Over there." She turned back to the others just in time to see Waters swoon and bring her hand to her forehead.

"Waters, are you alright!?" Janeway moved towards the young officer.

"I'm ... not feeling well ma'm.... I don't know ...." Waters' words were a mixture of surprise and pain. Tom caught her just as she began to slump onto the ground, "I think she may have a concussion Captain, I'd recommend she stay in the shuttle," Tom glanced up at the sky, "I don't think she's in any condition to go for a hike in the desert."

"Agreed." Replied Janeway, "you stay with her and see if you can determine the extent of her injury."

"Yes Captain, but with respect, you shouldn't go alone."

"I'll be fine Tom, we'll keep an open com link. Take care of Waters. And see if you can get the solar energy collectors online." Janeway's usual demeanor was taking over. She nodded as Tom helped Waters back to the shuttle, then turned and began walking.

As she walked, she tried to recall some of her history classes from the Academy. _21st Century.... __pre__ warp definitely, the nations were not yet united.... New Mexico.. why was that ringing a bell.... did something important happen here??_ There was a shadow of a memory she couldn't quite grasp... oh well, she'd just have to learn what she could, and hope for the best.

oooooooooooooooo

Ellie snapped on the lights in the main workroom of the small lab of the VLA. She set her things on a chair and tapped across the keyboards of various computers, their screens flashed to life, displaying the readings she had programmed them to compile the day before.

Opening her laptop absentmindedly, the young scientist gazed over the readings, reaching up and methodically tucking the loose hairs behind her ear. _1274.453, pulsar.... radio waves symmetrical..... 1274.589..... nothing new there.... business as usual so far...._

Ellie looked down at the file on her laptop. It was a draft of her latest paper, a discussion of starquakes and other anomalies she had recently encountered. She had been published much more since The Incident, being the target of such excitement and later skepticism helped to get you noticed, but she kept her submissions to the topics of observed occurrences. It was nothing that really sparked her interest, but she figured it helped to justify the hours she spent at the VLA.

Ellie mused to herself, _Let's see, where did I leave off.... oh, I was comparing the redshift in these quasars.... right..... _why did she feel so distracted today?

Ellie tapped through her most recent chapter absentmindedly, her vibrant blue eyes reflected the pages of text as she scrolled.

*Tap* *Tap*

Ellie's head snapped up at the noise coming from the door, as far as she knew she was the only one scheduled to be at the lab today. This far out in the desert you generally didn't get visitors. She removed her glasses and stood, cautiously moving towards the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the next chapter- enjoy! Questions, comments, suggestions- feel free to leave a review!

Universal Dialect Ch 3

Kathryn Janeway trudged through the desert. She had managed to find a dirt path of some type going in the direction of the structures. It was official.... it was hot out by now, and sweat was beginning to drip down the inside of her replicated clothes. She stopped and pulled off the top layer of fabric, leaving only a small, black form-fitting tank-top. At least in black the sweat didn't show too much, she mused.

As she approached the structures, she stopped and inhaled sharply. Her memories of history class were coming back now. These were early radio telescopes, the kind that had done the first real deep space observations. The shuttle may have landed them in one of the few places that could help to yield some answers as to how they got here, and hopefully how they could get back again.

As Janeway came closer, she noticed a small one-story building situated near the nexus of the rows of telescopes. Having no better plans, she headed towards it, mentally preparing herself to try not to seem so out of place in case she met anyone.

Janeway knocked on what appeared to be the only door of the building apprehensively, not sure if she wanted anyone to answer, or what she would say if they did.

Ellie glanced quickly out of the small window in the door of the lab and was surprised to see a striking auburn-haired woman standing there. She opened the door, "Hi... can I help you?" It took her a few minutes to get over the shock of meeting a stranger at the lab this early in the morning. Especially meeting such an attractive stranger ..... at *her* lab.... this early in the morning....

Janeway snapped into her best diplomatic mode, "I hope so, my name is Kathryn Janeway," _she figured it wouldn't do any harm to use her real name after all, she didn't exist yet_, "I'm a scientist doing work in..._she organized her thoughts_.. San Fransisco.. I was traveling out this way hoping to learn more about this facility, and my ..._she paused trying to come up with the appropriate words_.... *vehicle* broke down on the way. Gods she hoped that sounded credible for the time period, she felt she had heard that line in an old holonovel.

Janeway shrugged and looked up at the young blonde, "and I didn't know quite what to do, so I found my way here."

Ellie was still a bit confused, but the other woman seemed harmless. It might be nice to have a little company, even for a little while. "Sorry about your car, come in." Ellie extended her hand, "Elanore Arroway. Sorry I'm the only one using the Array today, so there's not much going on to observe."

Janeway took her hand...she had a firm grip. Years of Starfleet had taught Janeway you could tell a lot about a person from their handshake. "Pleased to meet you Elanore, and thank you for letting me in, it was getting hot out there."

"Call me Ellie. What type of work are you doing in San Fransisco?"

_Arroway.... the slivers of memory coalesced in Janeway's mind..... this must be THE Elanore Arroway. She had been the guinea pig, for lack of a better term, in the Machine that allegedly made the first "first contact," but history had yet to truly corroborate her story. The scientific community was still not united on the issue. Some said it was a government cover-up, and if the aliens Arroway claims to have met had existed, contact would have been made again. Still others felt the story couldn't yet be proven or dis proven, and that too much evidence was likley lost since the 21st century. Here she was, face to face with one of mankind's greatest mysteries.... and she had no idea what to say._

Janeway didn't say much at all, her mind raced to give Ellie an answer. She settled on something that seemed plausible for the era, and might keep Ellie interested. "Ive... been doing some work on high frequency gamma rays, looking for irregularities in close stars. I'm looking for evidence of planets."

Ellie's head turned to Janeway, her eyes bright, "I'd be very interested to hear your findings, I don't usually do direct observations, just scan for changes in frequency."  
_  
Mission accomplished_ thought Janeway, the longer she could keep Ellie interested, the more she was likely to be able to learn about the potential uses of this technology.

ooooooooooooooooo

A full six hours later the women were still engrossed in conversation. It had began as a tentative discussion between scientists about methods and findings, and had evolved over the hours, and Janeway was surprised to find how captivating this young scientist was. She was clearly one of the great minds of her era, despite how history had treated her.

During the course of their day together, Janeway had pried a bit, trying to get Ellie's side of the historical story. She described the network of wormholes or something similar thorough which she had been transported, and the destinations that she had been shown. Her story immediately led her to think of the Borg trans-warp conduits, but the description wasn't quite right. Perhaps the technology operated on some of the same principles. If she got back, Seven would be interested to hear what she was learning.

Ellie was very easy to talk to, her knowledge was considerable given the science of the time. However, what struck Janeway most was her almost childlike enthusiasm for discovery of the unknown. It was refreshing to see someone so passionate about their research and it made Janeway remember how she once felt when learning new things or exploring new places. The burden of command had begun to erode that part of her. Every opportunity to explore now came with the possibility of danger, and she had to think of the needs of her crew. Janeway took unexpected joy in hearing Ellie describe her work, not to mention she was remarkably beautiful, especially when she let a rare smile cross her usually serious and thoughtful face.

She did so at that moment, glancing at one of the computer monitors, "Wow, quarter -to- five! No wonder I'm getting hungry, we've been talking for hours."

Janeway shook back to reality, it had been nice to just talk to someone without the constant interruption of her command duties. Besides, from Ellie's accounts of the experiences she had, Janeway was starting to get an idea as to how they may have ended up back in the Alpha quadrant. "You're right! Sorry, I seem to have taken up your day."

"Don't worry about it, really. I enjoyed our talk, but do you need to get back to... get back to... where are you staying again?"

Janeway had to think fast. "Well, I was planning on driving back tonight, but now I'll have to stay around here. Any suggestions?"

Ellie smiled, "There's really only one option, there's a motel about 40 minutes down the road, I can give you a lift if you'd like." For some reason, Ellie wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet. She had that rising feeling in her stomach that only meant she was getting interested in this woman, and not just for her views on binary star systems. _ Leave it alone Ellie_, _you'll just get in trouble or hurt_, she thought to herself. But she didn't _want_ to leave it alone, and once she wanted in something, it was hard to change her mind.

"Sounds like my night's been planned for me," Janeway replied, smiling warmly. Janeway hoped Paris had the transporters back online by now, or she'd really be spending the night at the motel.

"Great, let me wrap things up here. You hungry?" Ellie stood and began to shove some folders into her bag.

Janeway paused, realizing she hadn't had anything to eat since they had landed. "I could use some dinner, is there a restroom I could use before we leave?" Janeway needed to get away to check on Tom and Waters and inform them of the events of her day.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The blue convertible pulled up in front of Ellie's house. "Come in, I need to get changed. I'll look to see what I might have in the way of food." Ellie hopped out of the car, nodding at the door. Janeway followed her in, she had put back on her long sleeved shirt to protect against the growing evening chill.

Once inside, Ellie motioned for Janeway to have a seat at the small kitchen table, while Ellie rummaged through the fridge. She let out a long breath upon surveying the contents, a box containing week-old pizza, one can of tomato juice, half a stick of butter, and a six-pack of beer with only four bottles left. "We're going to have to go out." Ellie called over her sholder, shutting the fridge. She blushed slightly as she realized her wording.

"You don't have to do that, I can get something at the motel." Janeway replied, feeling she was causing too much trouble for the young scientist

"No, really come with me. I'm going to have to go anyway or it looks like I'll be going without tonight. I'll take you to my usual spot. Like margaritas?" Ellie's eyes flashed brightly at the brunette.

Ellie turned and headed to her beadroom to change, "make yourself at home," She told Janeway as she walked away down the hall.

Minutes later she emerged wearing dark jeans and a lightweight fitted v-neck sweater the color of her blue eyes, though not so vibrant. She had taken down her thick hair and tied it partly back in a loose half-ponytail, letting the bulk of it cascade down her back.

Janeway was surprised at how small and feminine Ellie appeared, and yet radiated confidence and strength.

"All set?"

Janeway nodded, forcing herself to stop staring at the young blonde. "All set," she replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay in getting this one out but I keep traveling.... you know the drill, enjoy and let me know what you think!

Universal Dialect, Ch 4

The restaurant was set just off of the road, adjacent to a small store, gas station, and the one-floor motel. Ellie informed Janeway that this was about all there was to the "town" nearest to the Array.

"I like being away from everything out here, the noise, the traffic, but sometimes it can get a little lonely at the end of the day," Ellie sighed.

"I'd imagine so, how long have you been working out here?" Replied Janeway.

They began to walk towards the small restaurant, it was a plain wood-frame building with several picnic tables set up to one side for outdoor seating. They were lit by strands of white Christmas lights hung between poles, lightly swaying in the evening breeze. The sign above the door was simply the words "The Lone Coyote" carved into a knotted piece of wood, painted red and green.

"Awhile, I guess.." Ellie paused, "close to eight years, if you count the time I was traveling and working with the Machine Consortium."

The two women walked into the restaurant, their shoes treading on the worn wooden floor.

"Ellie! How's it going!" The man behind the small bar boisterously greeted them as they walked in.

Heads along the bar and the few occupied tables turned to greet them as well. Ellie received several smiles and nods. In this rural area, the "Lone Coyote" was frequented only by the locals, most of whom Ellie knew well. In fact, most of the men had made passes at her before realizing they didn't have a chance.

"I'm a bit of a regular here," Ellie informed Janeway. "Ladd, this is my new friend Kathryn Janeway, she.... surprised me at the lab this morning."

Ladd was a tall man with curly blonde hair that hung just down to his eyebrows, and a gregarious demeanor. He nodded at the two women and raised an eyebrow, "Nice find Ellie."

"Leave it Tripp, is my usual table open?"

"Of course El, go ahead."

Ellie motioned Janeway out to one of the picnic tables outside, furthest from the building.

"So, come here often?" Janeway grinned at Ellie.

"Just a bit, the locals are nice and the food's not bad."

A waiter wearing a Hawaiian shirt approached their table, "hola miss Ellie."

Ellie smiled, "Buenos noches, Mairo, dos margueritas por favor." She glanced at Janeway, who nodded back.

"Gracias Miss Ellie" he replied, and returned to the kitchen.

Janeway looked amused, the use of the universal translator had made the learning of multiple languages a somewhat lost art in the 24th century. That is unless you encountered someone like the tac-tac who's communication went beyond the usual boundaries.

"You speak very well." Janeway commented, "I'm impressed, but can you do more than order drinks?" Janeway's voice was teasing.

"I can manage Spanish and French pretty well, and I have a decent handle on Italian. I've always had an ear for romance languages I guess you could say, but the truth is the only true universal dialect is science and mathematics. That's how we received the first message, and I'm almost positive that's how the next one will be written."

Ellie handed a paper menu to Janeway, "I recommend the enchiladas" she added.

"I'll have whatever you are Ellie, I know better than to second guess the expert."

"Sounds good then," Ellie replied, taking back the menu and placing it with hers on the other side of the table. "I always sit here for a reason. About this time of night Venus rises right….she pointed to a bright point of light on the horizon… there. When I was a kid one of my first realizations about the vastness of the universe was that a whole other planet could appear that small. The distances and the possibilities involved inspired me to know everything I could about what was really out there."

Ellie's words trailed off as the waiter approached again, bearing two large margaritas. Ellie took hers and ordered dinner for both of them in fluently accented Spanish.

The rest of the women's dinner proceeded much as their day together had, filled with increasingly comfortable conversation, and by the second round of drinks, a fair amount of laughter.

"It must be late," Janeway interjected, noticing Venus had risen considerably since they had arrived, I'm assuming you have to work tomorrow?"

"Yes, as usual, who knows when I may need to be there. What keeps me going through the quiet days is that I know there are others out there, and when they speak I want to be the one who's listening."

Janeway smiled at her, "there's more out there than you can imagine." The words were out of her mouth before she could edit herself, "I'm sure." She lamely added, hoping she hadn't said too much. Ellie hadn't seemed to pick up on her comment,

"I'd agree," she replied, "But you should get to the motel, I'll walk you over."

"I'll be fine, but thanks." "I don't suppose you'd need any help… or company at work tomorrow? I'm excellent with data analysis."

Ellie tried hard not to show her enthusiasm, "of course I could use the company, and I just might take you up on the analysis offer, but I'll warn you now, it's mostly going over what's NOT there."

"I'll survive," Janeway flashed Ellie a crooked smile.

"Pick you up outside the motel at 8?"

"Sounds good."

Janeway and Ellie left the restaurant, Ellie nodding at Ladd as she went, and receiving a wink in reply.

"Night ladies, hope to see you again Kathryn."

Reaching her car, Ellie turned back to Janeway, "I had fun tonight, well… the entire day actually, I'm glad you found me."

Janeway caught the blonde's gaze and held it, "I'm glad too, looking forward to tomorrow."

Janeway was surprised to feel tension build between them. She suddenly felt like she was back in Indiana, saying goodnight to a high school date. The confusion was further compounded by the knowledge that she hadn't been on a "date" in years, combined with the fact that Ellie was, well, female. Given the evolution of social attitudes in the 24th century, there was little stigma associated with same-sex attraction, and the majority of people felt that love followed the person rather than the gender. However, Janeway had never found herself overly predisposed to women, though there was the occasional woman who had turned her head. Though she had never pursued them since she felt that the attraction might be born more of admiration than anything else. Maybe it was just the second drink, she rationalized.

Ellie was the first to break the silence, "so tomorrow then…. 8am."

"Uh… yes, perfect." Janeway came back to her senses.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ellie replied, and slid into her car.

Janeway watched her pull away, and gave a last wave as she drove down the road. Then Janeway turned and walked to the back of the restaurant, making sure nobody was watching, she reached into her chino pocket and removed her com badge. "Janeway to shuttle one, Mr. Paris are you there?"

"Yes ma'm, I was getting a little worried about you. I've managed to get the transporters online, all this desert sun has done wonders for power generation."

"Excellent Tom, one to beam to the shuttle, Janeway out."

From the shadows behind the Lone Coyote, Kathryn Janeway gave Venus a last glance as she heard the transporter hum, and the desert sky faded from her perception.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Welcome back Captain, you must have been busy out there, having fun without us? Do I smell Tequila Captain?" Tom concluded cheekily.

"Save it for later Tom, first how is Waters doing?"

"She'll be fine, just a bump on the head from our landing. If the Doc was here she'd be fine by now, but as long as she doesn't incur any more trauma, she should progress well. She's just sleeping now." Tom nodded to the darkened bunk in the rear of the shuttle.

"That's good news Tom, and how are the Shuttle's systems holding up?"

"Quite well actually, the landing was pretty smooth, all things considered. I have scanners running, and the transporters have good range. The solar collectors are what are saving us, they're bringing in more than the shuttle is using."

"Good, and I have some additional good news. We are in the 21st century, so the available technology is limited. However, I had a quite… she struggled for the correct word…. memorable day. I met the woman who may have made the real 'first contact' with another species."

"Captain?" Tom sounded confused but intrigued.

"Elanore Arroway, I remember learning about her in the academy. She claims to have been transported to another world by the "machine" that was built based on blueprints received from an unknown deep space source. Her account could never be verified, and the Machine was not used again. She's currently working at a site called the "Very Large Array" about a mile north of here. The center is an early radio astronomy lab, Ellie…. Elanore that is is continuing her work searching for signals from outer space."

"So how can she help us find out what brought us here," Tom inquired.

"Her account of the mechanism that sent her across space seems strikingly similar to the anomaly that we encountered. It could be remnants of the space folding opened up by this 'machine' that was built in this century. In any event, I'd like to look into it. It would be a unique opportunity since in our century this site was demolished by the great Hokkaido island earthquake of 2256."

"So Captain, what's our next move?"

"How soon will Waters be recovered?"

"I'll examine her tomorrow when she wakes up, if she's up to it she might be ready to move then."

"Good, I'd like you and Waters to proceed to the site of this 'Machine' and see what you can learn. You'll have to be conscious to fit in and not arouse suspicion. Will the transporters be up to it?"

"I believe so Captain."

"That's the plan then, tomorrow we'll replicate some remote transporter controls and you and Waters will beam to Hokkaido. I'm due back to meet up with Arroway at 0800 hours. We'll keep an open com, but unless there is an emergency I want to limit communication to reports every 8 hours. Take the time you need Tom, let me know when you transport back so we can have a full debriefing.

"Yes ma'm, now can I ask about the Tequila?"

"Not tonight Tom, I need some sleep." Janeway wasn't in a hurry to tell Tom all the details of her day, especially not the ones that were currently confusing her. They both moved to the rear of the craft and pulled down the emergency bunks. It only took a minute for Janeway to fall asleep, she dreamt fitfully of aliens, Venus, and thunderstorms rolling across the desert.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo


	5. Chapter 5

Universal Dialect Ch. 5

Janeway's combadge chirped at 0700, waking her from her night's dreaming. She opened her eyes and saw the ceiling of the shuttle..... _not a dream_... she thought, remembering the events of the previous day. She rolled over and got to her feet, moving to the front of the shuttle to begin modifying their combadges to serve as remote transporter units. They would have to be tied into the shuttle's systems and as such would be little more than homing devices once they had transported to their destinations. At least they would be able to get back here in a hurry if needed.

Hearing Janeway, Tom woke and dragged himself to sit in the vacant seat opposite her. Janeway nodded, and then looked questioningly back at Waters. "She's fine," Tom answered her unspoken query. "She should be fit for duty today."

"Good work Tom, here, I've activated a link between our combadges and the shuttle's transporter. If you push down on it consistently for 5 seconds, it will activate and transport you back here. One problem though, you'll have to share, Ensign Waters' combadge was too damaged in the accident. So stay with her at all times for safety."

"Understood Captain."

Janeway glanced at the shuttle's control panel, 0745 already, she had to transport to the motel soon in case Ellie was overly punctual. It wouldn't do well for her credibility if Ellie was sitting there waiting while Janeway shimmerd into existence in the parking lot of the motel right before her eyes.

"I've got to meet Arroway. Tom, transport me to the coordinates you transported me from last night. And remember, communications only in emergencies or at eight hour intervals. We'll rendezvous in 36 hours back here, try to learn everything you can in that time."

"Yes ma'm." Tom moved to take over the transporter controls. "See you in three days Captain."

Janeway nodded, "Energize."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Janeway was safely waiting in the parking lot of the motel when Ellie's blue convertible pulled in.

"Like a ride, lady?" Ellie pulled her sunglasses down the bridge of her and gave Janeway a wink. "You sure you're up for a day of some of the most dull data compilation possible?" Ellie flashed a rye smile.

"Can't wait," Janeway smiled and got in the car.

Arriving in the lab, Ellie motioned to a chair facing several computer monitors, "have a seat, there's enough of a backlog in those files to keep you busy all day. Let me show you the ropes."

Janeway sat and Ellie tapped the keyboards, bringing up the night's data records. "The basic idea here is to look for irregularities, and then to find if whatever the discrepancy is can be attributed to something local, or something already cataloged. Anything that isn't ruled out by that point becomes more interesting."

Ellie leaned over Janeway slightly to point at one of the monitors, Janeway's breath caught involuntarily but Ellie didn't seem to notice, she was scanning the readouts. "Like here, this record is stronger than the background noise, but in this frequency it's most likely the regional airport's signals being registered by the Array. So most of the work here is ruling everything out."

Janeway nodded, and began to scan the data pouring in from the Array. This couldn't be too difficult, she thought.... she was from the 24th century after all....

As the day progressed, Janeway both scanned the data collected, and studied the technology available, looking for anything that could be of use. So far the best use she could find would be to try to get access to the records from the night they had been pulled through the anomaly to see if the Array had recorded anything unusual.

She was surprised at the how carefull one had to be in this job, and she gained a new appreciation for how much of the grunt work Voyager's systems took out of daily life.

Many hours later, the daylight was fading outside the lab and Arroway was ready to call it a day. It had been uneventful as far as any actual discovery was concerned, but her growing attraction to her surprise visitor had made the day one of the most memorable in quite awhile. Though they had spent nearly two days together, Ellie realized she knew very little about this Kathryn Janeway. What was obvious, however, was her innate understanding of science in general, and astronomy in particular.

Ellie smiled to herself as she grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote "Dinner?" in large letters. She then quickly folded it into quite a decent paper airplane, if she didn't say so herself. The young blonde took aim, and lofted the message in Janeway's general direction. It cleared the bank of monitors and landed charmingly on Janeway's keyboard.

Janeway started, having been engrossed in the readouts from a pulsar in the Capricorn system. She unfolded the paper and smiled, she flipped it over and wrote, "What did you have in mind?" She briefly considered trying to re-fold the airplane, but finding this too calculating of a task, balled up the paper and lobbed it back at Ellie.

It flew across the lab, and bounced off Ellie's head before coming to rest on the ground.

Both women laughed heartily, Ellie was the first to recover, "My place? I managed to acquire some food since last time you were there."

"Sounds good, you can tell me more about what you've been writing over there all day," Janeway rose and stretched.

While Ellie packed up Janeway excused herself to check in with Tom and Waters. Tom reported that they had arrived just outside of the perimeter of the Machine restricted zone and had spent the day gathering information and taking readings while doing their best to blend in. From his tone, she could tell it wasn't going very well. At least the universal translator was still operational. They agreed to make their next communication at 0800 the following morning.

"Ready?" Ellie rounded the corner into the hallway where Janeway was standing. Janeway started, and slid the combadge up her sleeve, trying to look casual.

"All set," she replied, and followed Ellie out of the Lab.

The sun was setting over the desert as Ellie drove them back to her house.

Janeway sighed and leaned back into her seat. Though she wished it were under different circumstances, she was enjoying being back on Earth again. And getting to spend time with Ellie was making it all the more memorable. She allowed herself a fleeting moment to consider what might happen if they couldn't get back. No, she thought, I'm not ready for that quite yet, her life was still on Voyager even if it was in the Delta Quadrant.

For Ellie, however, the ride back was spent noticing that Kathryn's hand was noticeably devoid of a ring.....

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And it's really not the main focus of my work, but it keeps me fed." Ellie set down her glass and sighed slightly. She had spent most of their dinner rattling on about the various papers she had been working on over the past few months. She always got a little too talkative when she was slightly nervous and was covering for it. At this point, SHE wasn't even interested, Kathryn was either being very polite, or was an extremely good listener.

She looked apologetically at her dinner companion, "sorry for going on, I just don't usually have someone to talk to."

"Don't apologize! I actually am interested," replied Janeway who, truthfully had been fading in between listening intently and getting captivated by Ellie's striking blue eyes.

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, then Ellie rose from the small kitchen table and reached for the wine bottle on the counter. She hesitated, and looked back at Janeway, not sure if she should suggest what she was thinking.

She inwardly shrugged, "how bright are the stars in San Fransisco?"

Janeway was thrown by this, "Uhh... " she stuttered, "Well, it's not the best conditions for taking observations if that's what you are asking."

Ellie giggled quitely to herself, Kathryn obviously thought she was continuing on with some comparison of places to put a telescope. "Well, where I was going with that question is there's no place like the desert for a little stargazing."

"Oh" Something clicked for Janeway, "Ohhh, I'm sure ..." she trailed off as she saw Ellie's grin starting to grow.

Ellie picked up the wine, "Wanna get out of here?"


End file.
